Spy Games

Every once in a while George Will cranks out a winner. His column ("Why Didn't He Ask Congress?") in today's Post is a good example. Give the guy credit for occasionally drawing a deep breath, stepping back, and taking notice of when his party is plainly on the wrong side of an issue. He did this today with regard to the administration's domestic spying revelation.

Because of what Alexander Hamilton praised as "energy in the executive," which often drives the growth of government, for years many conservatives were advocates of congressional supremacy. There were, they said, reasons why the Founders, having waged a revolutionary war against overbearing executive power, gave the legislative branch pride of place in Article I of the Constitution.

One reason was that Congress's cumbersomeness, which is a function of its fractiousness, is a virtue because it makes the government slow and difficult to move. But conservatives' wholesome wariness of presidential power has been a casualty of conservative presidents winning seven of the past 10 elections.

Nice. So now that the right wing has won 7 of 10 Presidential elections, they're okay with excessive, monarch-like executive power.